Change Your Life
Change Your Life is a song by Little Mix which serves as their third single and appears as the 3rd track on their debut album, DNA. It was released on 3 February, 2013. Background & Composition After winning the eighth series of The X Factor, Little Mix worked with Richard "Biff" Stannard, Tim Powell and Ash Howes on their debut single, "Cannonball", which went on to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart in December 2011. The group then embarked on The X Factor Tour in January 2012, while on tour the group met up with Stannard, Powell and Howes to develop songs for their debut album, DNA. The first song they developed was "Change Your Life" based on the group's experience on The X Factor and their fans. It was recorded at the Biffco Studios in Brighton, England. In a January 2012 interview with the Daily Mirror, Perrie Edwards was quoted as saying, "We're going a bit urban, old school with a bit of pop. We wanna bring back old school harmonies. And Jesy beat-boxes and Leigh-Anne raps, so we're trying out different things". It was written as a song with an uplifting message. Jade Thirlwall told Robert Copsey of Digital Spy that the group loved the message of the song and that they were looking forward to releasing it. Serban Ghenea mixed the track at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Tom Coyne was responsible for the song's mastering. Little Mix premiered "Change Your Life" before the release of DNA, performing it live for the first time on Children in Need 2012 on 17 November 2012. The group were set to appear on Google+ on 12 December 2012, but due to technical problems they had to cancel. To keep their fans happy, the artwork and release of "Change Your Life" as the third single from DNA was revealed instead. Little Mix's management posted the information on the group's Facebook, writing, "Sad news Mixers! The girls can't do the Hangout today because of technical problems...BUT they have a little suprise for you instead...the new 'Change Your Life' cover AND they'll be doing a Twitter Q&A at 6pm! Not such sad news after all! Mixers HQ x". Syco solicited the single to radio stations in the United Kingdom on 5 January 2013. "Change Your Life" is a mid-tempo pop power ballad with a length of three minutes and 21 seconds. Having elements of soul and urban contemporary music, its Instrumentation includes tumbling R&B piano lines and a pulsating, driving backbeat. The song begins with an emotionally frayed spoken-word introduction by Leigh-Anne Pinnock, "She captures her reflection then she throws the mirror to the floor/ Her image is distorted, screaming 'Is it worth it anymore?" 4Music said that the spoken-word introduction is reminiscent of All Saints' 1997 single, "Never Ever". The chorus, "Change, change your life, take it all/We gonna stick together, know we get through it all", is pledged by the group in harmony over a spiraling piano lines, cascading keyboard lines and rousing, chugging strings. According to the digital sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Little Mix's vocal range in the song span from the note of A3 to E5. Written in the key of A major, the track is set in common time at a moderate tempo of 80 beats per minute. Critical Reception Digital Spy's Lewis Corner awarded "Change Your Life" four out of five stars, commending Little Mix's "pitch-perfect" harmonies and Richard Stannard's ability to create a pop anthem. Dan Stubbs of NME complimented the song's lyrics and deemed the chorus "monumental". Christopher Hooton of Metro called the track "catchy and anthemic". Jon Hornbuckle from So So Gay felt that "Change Your Life" was an obvious single choice and that its anthemic chorus is the definition of girl power in 2013. Adrian Thrills of the Daily Mail positively reviewed the song, "The vocals are unexpectedly potent, with the harmony singing of Perrie, Jesy, Leigh-Anne and Jade blending impressively on the big ballad 'Change Your Life'". Entertainment Wise's Amy Gravelle said that the track succeeds in surpassing generic pop ballads, adding, "Which is suprising, for a band that have gone through the same mental trials and tribulations of other X Factor contestants who have failed at the first album hurdle". Synopsis The music video for "Change Your Life" shows the backstage environment of the group's first solo tour, the DNA (Tour). A reporter from the Daily Mail wrote that the video sees Little Mix "embracing their usually casual but edgy style". Jade is pictured wearing a banana-print top and Perrie matches her purple hair with a soft blue dress. Other looks include Jesy sporting a camouflage jacket and Leigh-Anne wearing an oversized football shirt. Christopher Hooton of Metro described the group's look in the video as "new seapunk-meets-90s-star". Hooton also mentioned that the music video features the band "goofing around". The group is first pictured sitting around backstage while waiting to have their hair and make-up done. In another scene, Little Mix are filmed on their tour bus. This scene features Jade scribbling in a notebook as the other group members play around, laugh and take pictures of each other sleeping using a Samsung Galaxy camera. The group then look at the pictures they took together. In a different scene, Perrie is seen cuddling a puppy. Little Mix are also pictured singing "Change Your Life" to each other in a studio and preparing to go on stage at their Rhyl Pavilion tour date. Other scenes features the group in a dance rehearsal, using funny facial expressions and bonding with their mothers backstage. During the dance rehearsal, the group is seen practicing dance moves to their DNA Tour setlist with their tour choreographer and backing dancers. In other scenes, the group is seen playing with their own Little Mix dolls and Jade, with blue hair, is wheeled away in a cardboard box. Before going onstage, Leigh-Anne is seen smiling as a make-up artist applies her final touches while Jade is pictured applying her own make-up. The group then centre themselves as they show each other support by hugging one another before heading to the stage. After the show, the foursome is seen showing their solidarity by embracing one another again. Live performances Little Mix performed "Change Your Life" for the first time on the BBC's Children in Need telethon on 17 November 2012.7 Lizzie Cox of Sugar wrote that the performance was mind-blowing. Following Perrie Edwards having her tonsils removed in December 2012 and Jade Thirlwall losing her voice, the group managed to perform the song live on Dancing on Ice on 20 January 2013. Despite their throat problems, Little Mix "whacked out a belter of a performance", according to Kate Lucey of Sugar who labelled the performance "flawless". 4Music positively reviewed the performance, "The girls looked and sounded amazing". The performance also received praise from the group's fans on Twitter. On 31 January 2013, Little Mix appeared on The Graham Norton Show for an interview and a performance of "Change Your Life". Carl Smith from Sugar praised the group's cute look during the performance and Jade Thirlwall's Minnie Mouse-inspired head-piece. On 14 February 2013, Little Mix did an interview and performed the single on ITV's This Morning. "Change Your Life" is performed as part of the encore during Little Mix's setlist for their 2013 DNA Tour. Before the performance, the group change into their final costume for the setlist. After the performance, Little Mix then thank the crowd for coming, make shoutouts to the audience and thank their band. Shields Gazette who were at the tour's date at the Newcastle City Hall, wrote that the crowd chanted the group's name until they re-appeared for the performance of the song. A writer for newspaper praised the performance, "It was an all-round stunning performance from a band, who are destined to be huge all over the world." Lewis Corner of Digital Spy who was at the tour's date at the Hammersmith Apollo, opined, "The girls seemed genuinely humbled by the crowd's rapturous response." Corner added, "It's lucky Little Mix seem to enjoy touring so much, because they've got the whole world to travel yet." A journalist for the Express & Star who attended the tour's date at the Civic Hall in Wolverhampton deemed the "Change Your Life" performance "powerful". The journalist also mentioned that the crowd were in riotous voice during the performance and further opined, "Little Mix may have been born out of a TV talent show but they are growing into a class act." Chart Performance Lyrics Change Your Life (Remixes) # Tracks Duration #Change Your Life (Single Mix) 3:21 #Change Your Life (Sonny J Mason Radio Edit) 4:21 #Change Your Life (Bimbo Jones Radio Edit) 2:48 #Change Your Life (Instrumental) 3:20 Gallery change2.png change2.jpg change4.jpg change1.jpg change1.png change3.jpg change5.jpg change6.jpg Videos Little Mix - Change Your Life|''Change Your Life: Official Music Video'' Little Mix - Change Your Life (Lyric Video)|''Change Your Life: Official Lyric Video'' Little Mix - Track By Track - Change Your Life|''Change Your Life: Track by Track'' Category:Songs Category:Singles Category:DNA Songs Category:DNA Standard Edition Songs